CALEDONIAN SOCIETY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 24, 28 January 1873, Page 2

CALEDONIAN SOCIETY.

The annual dinner of this Society, to which about thirty sat down, was given last night. Of the viands and wines it is only necessary to say that they were of Mr M'Gee's best, and what with toasts and songs a very pleasant evening was spent. The chair was occupied by Sir D. Monro the President, and the vice-chair by the Hon. Dr Renwick, tbe Vice President of the Society. After the cußtomary loyal toasts had been disposed of, that of the Legislative Council and House of Representatives* was proposed by Mr Sclanders. The Hon. Db. Senwick, in replying on behalf of the Legislative Council, Baid that he was aware that it was not looked upon as of thesame importance as the Lower House, but it had already done good service, and he trusted would continue to db so in keeping a careful watch over the legislation of the House of Representatives which was sometimes of too hasty a character for the welfare of tho country.

The Hon. E. W. Stafford, in returning thanks fo#jthe House of Representatives, deprecated: Jthe. quasi apology made, by Dr Renwick for the Upper Housed which he thought had been highly useful v in its action, as it was quite clear that it had on more than one occasion ameliorated the too precipitate legislation of the House of Representatives. With regard to the latter he could say, after seventeen years' experience, that although mistakes were sometimes made — and be could see that be himself bad fallen in to them at times — it was as a rule, actuated by a sincere desire to promote the interests of the colony. Composed aB it was of members representing so many diverse .'interests, much local jealousy was naturally displayed iv its deliberations, and it was top often the case that a member asked himself the question before voting on any' particular subject — Is it .calculated to affect my province ? rather than, .Will it be advantageous for the colony as a whole? L could not be hoped foi* some time that the same national feeling would prevail here where there were so : many centres, as in other colonies in these seas where all radiated from one recognised centre. The telegraph, steam communication, and public works, . however, would tend to. remedy this, and; to make us feel that after all we were one people. As it was, it was exceedingly difficolt for those who held the reins of Government, For continuation of news see fourth page.

as it was called, to handle those reins equally, for they had to deal with jibbers, hard mouths, boi ter 8, and kickers, and it was no easy task to steer them all in the right direction. Still, he thought, tbat apart from local sympathies, the members did their best for the country, and that the Legislature of New Zealand would compare favorably with that in any of tbe other offshoots from the mother country. One of the greatest difficulties that stood in the way of satisfactory legislation was the rapid changes of members, as, just as they were learning to give and take, and beginning to get rid of their local prejudices, they frequently had to clear out and make way for new ones who bad to learn the same lesson. Nelson was particularly fortunate in possessing a member such as Mr Curtis, who had attained a position in the House seldom reached by other representatives, aod one which he was afraid was scarcely appreciated in his own district. This had been achieved by the fact of his being above such local considerations as those alluded to, and by bis habit of viewing every question brought before the House as one that affected the whole colony, and riot any particular integral part of it. But, notwithstanding these local prejudices, he (Mr Stafford) considered that on the whole, New Zealand might safely trust to the House to act fairly for the whole colony, as much as any legislature could do in the absence of that public opinion which was so wanting here. On occasions such as the present he thought it was but right that they should recognise the existence of a body which, whether they liked it or not, could by its actions largely affect their own interests snd those of their children. The Hon. E. W. Stafford proposed the toast of "The Superintendent and Provincial Council." He thought that Nelson had been always peculiarly fortunate in her Superintendents, for whatever difference of opinion might exist as to their actions, and it was always well that there should be opposition, none could ever accuse either them or the Provincial Councils of being actuated by improper or corrupt motives. Although from the absence of spending powers, they had not effected so much here as had been done in otfier provinces/ a considerable amount of judgment, and cool common sense had been displayed by them in the manner in which they had dealt with the affairs of the province. From his own personal knowledge of Mr Curtis he had much pleasure in proposing his health and that of the Provincial Council. His Honor the Superintendent wished to thank Mr Stafford for the favorable manner in which he had alluded to him, and to those present for so heartily responding to the toast. At the same time he must express his surprise that at a dinner of the Caledonian Society he should hear a toast proposed by an Irishman. On walking down to the place of meeting he had been disposed to look upon himself as an impostor, or rather as an for presenting himself without tbe necessary qualification of being a thoroughbred Scotchmen, and the excuse he had framed was tbat he himself was half a Welshman, a race which iffa some degree by their origin, language, and habits was akin to the Further than that, one of his! progenitors, 150 years ago, had married a Scotchwoman, and as that lady's father's brother had been executed for participating in a Scotch rebellion, and a similar honor had been conferred on her great-great-grandfather, he thought he might claim to have some Scotch bipod in his veins. He was surprised to see so moderate an attendance of Scotchmen, but was pleased to find so many English and Irish assisting them in celebrating their great New Tear's festival. He thanked them for the honor they had done him and hoped to meet them on many similar occasions. Mr. Greenfield returned thanks on behalf of the Council which he thought had done some good work towards advancing the interests of the province. He waß always glad to attend on such occasions as he thought they were calculated to^dogood in allaying the party feeling that frequently ran high in Nelson. The Chairman proposed " The Memory of Burns," and spoke at some length on the works and character of 'the great Scoth poet, who, when touching on matters of a serious nature, displayed^ the greatest practical and vigorous good &epse; as a satirist was most powerful ; and was unsparing in his deprecation of cant and religious bigotry. His rich* humor aucT hiß love of everything Scotch commended himHo all Scotchmen with a sympathy it' was impossible "to express. His poetry was read by everyone of his countrymen with delight and had done much to elevate their national character. • The Vice-Chairman proposed " The, Caledonian Society of Nelson " which had now been in existence nearly three years, and the members might well congratulate themselves on the success that had attended ' their annual gatherings, their entertain-.

ments, and their dinners. The want of some place of meeting was greatly felt by them, and it was their intention to endeavor to obtain the money necessary for erecting some building:,* but they had not yet decided whether it should be a place of moderate dimensions or a larger building, fitted for theatrical and other entertainment?, which might be made self-supporting. The Society bad disbursed upwards of £200 during tbe past year and still had a balance of £30 in hand. A good deal of this expenditure would not be annual having been laid out in in obtaining the requisite properties. The Society had during the last few months had^an opportunity of marking its approbation of an act of heroism seldom excelled, namely that of Hamill, the mate of tbe City of Newcastle to whom it was intended to present a medal. He cordially agreed with the remarks tbat had fallen from Mr Greenfield with regard to these social gatherings which, he was convinced, tended to smoothe down the little asperities that must inevitably occur in communities such as ours. Mr Maclean proposed " The Town and Trade of Nelson," which was replied to by Mr Sclanders, who alluded to the movement now on foot to connect this, the natural depot of the West Coast, with that portion of the province. With regard to the trade of Nelson there was far more business done here than was generally believed. The amount of shipping entered at the Customs compared most favorably with that of other ports. Tbe following was the Government return for 1871: — Entered inwards: NelsoD, 63 vessels of 27,761 tons; Wellington, 49 vessels of 19,543 tons; Lyttelton, 83 vessels of 19,543 tons. — Outwards : Nelson, 35 vessels of 14 658 tons; Wellington, 55 vessels of 21,638 tons; Lyttelton, 78 vessels of 29,292 tons. He found, in looking over the returns at the Customhouse tbat no record was kept of the coasting vessels which formed a very important feature of our trade. "The Agricultural Interest" was proposed by the vice-chairman; the "Press " by Mr M'Donald, and replied to by Mr Blundell; " The Ladies," by Mr Blundell ; "The President and Lady," by Mr Stafford; and "The Vice-president and Lady," by' Mr -ScTanders. 1 " During the evening several capital songs were sung, and the party" broke* up at midnight after a very pleasant meeting.